November 2025

Lexi Ventures is a VC firm with a unique focus on gene tech at seed stage.

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) is refocusing its mission toward AI-powered biology making Biohub the centerpiece of its philanthropic and scientific strategy. The organization will continue donating more than $1 billion annually to assemble the largest dataset of human cell types, integrate frontier AI models with experimental biology, and recruit leading talent. Their modest objective is to cure or prevent all disease.

For genetics startups, this is likely to create substantial non-dilutive funding opportunities, allowing VC investment to make meaningful contributions to commercialization with lower dilution and higher returns.

But C&Z are not alone. Here are a few other notable funders of non-profit life science-related research institutes that will spin out startup companies.

1. Priscilla Chan & Mark Zuckerberg (Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative / CZ Biohub) — AI + biology, Biohub network.

2. Elon Musk (Neuralink and philanthropic gifts) — neurotech and brain-interface research.

3. Jeff Bezos (philanthropy / Altos Labs) — longevity and high-risk life-science teams.

4. Ken Griffin (Convergent/Schmidt initiatives partner) — philanthropic science incubators.

5. Cari Tuna & Dustin Moskovitz (Good Ventures / Open Phil / Arc) — discovery science and infrastructure.

6. Eric Schmidt (Schmidt Futures / Convergent Research) — focused nonprofit research organizations.

7. Sam Altman (philanthropic support / DeSci/biotech networks) — frontier bio projects and labs.

8. Patrick and John Collison (Arc Institute) — unrestricted, high-risk investigator-led biology research.

9. Peter Thiel (Thiel Foundation / Breakout Labs) — bold, unconventional biological research.

10. Marc Andreessen (a16z / personal philanthropy) — platform biotech and infrastructure.

11. Sean Parker (Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy) — coordinated cancer immunotherapy research.

12. Reid Hoffman (Biohub donor / other science giving) — collaborative, high-impact life science.

13. Brian Armstrong (donor / co-founder of NewLimit — private + philanthropic contributions) — epigenetic/aging research.

14. Anne Wojcicki (23andMe / research initiatives) — human-genomics research and translational work.

15. Vitalik Buterin (Arc & targeted gifts) — complex-disease and disease-risk research.

16. Fred Ehrsam (angel/backer in longevity networks) — early high-risk biotech research.

17. Joe Lonsdale (8VC / philanthropic giving) — long-horizon, translational bioscience projects.

18. Garry Tan (angel/backer in longevity networks) — epigenetics and lab platforms.

19. David Baszucki (Baszucki philanthropic giving) — brain & psychiatric research platforms.

20. Elad Gil (Arc & research philanthropy) — lab infrastructure and translational teams.

21. Jonah Probell (Lexi Ventures) — gene tech

Not only are investments going in, but returns are coming out.

Prenatal and cancer single-molecule sequencing diagnostic company BillionToOne went public on NASDAQ, quickly reaching a valuation above $4 billion.

BillionToOne closed its seed round in 2017 at a valuation around $10 million. Seed round investors might have realized about a 200x valuation increase in 8 years.

After a bidding contest with Novo Nordisk, Pfizer acquired Metsera for $10 billion. Metsera makes an injectible GLP-1 receptor agonist peptide that is notatable for its long-acting capability. This gives Pfizer a strong position against Novo’s Wegovy and Lilly’s Zepbound in the giant GLP-1 market.

Metsera raised its initial financing round of $290 million in April 2024. That should give its early stage investors a 34x return in 1.5 years. Not bad.

But Metsera is just a peptide. Avidity Biosciences develops antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) therapeutics for a rare neuromuscular disease. Novartis announced it is paying $12 billion to acquire Avidity.

If a peptide for the giant GLP-1 market is worth $10 billion while a gene therapy for a rare disease is worth $12 billion, consider what the valuations might be for gene therapies for common diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes in a few years.

Gene therapies are destined to become more common. Compared to traditional drugs, gene therapies solve harder problems and are more effective with fewer side effects. This is why they command higher value not only for patients, but also for insurance companies, large pharmaceutical firms, biotech startups, and venture capital investors.

Lexi Ventures’ portfolio company, Kopra Bio, signed a memorandum of understanding to explore a strategic collaboration with King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSHRC). KFSHRC is listed among Newsweek’s World’s Best Hospitals 2025.

The partnership intends to perform IND-enabling studies for eventual FDA approval of Kopra’s lead candidate KB-516. Amazingly, it is a replicating retrovirus that delivers an IL-15 super-agonist to convert immunologically “cold” tumors into “hot” immunogenic environments. The initial target is glioblastoma brain cancer.

The new partnership includes in-kind contributions from KFSHRC in exchange for equity participation in Kopra Bio.

James Watson passed away at 97. He won the Nobel Prize along with his research partner Francis Crick for co-discovering the double helix structure of DNA after viewing Rosalind Franklin’s X-ray diffraction images.

Watson led the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory for many years and contributed significantly to the Human Genome Project and other important research. He became known in his later years for unapologetically holding controversial ideas about human genetics.

Thank you for your interest and support.

jonah@lexi.vc